Climate Trend Warmer in Western US

By Margot Roosevelt, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

An analysis of 50 studies finds that the region's temperatures are increasing faster than in the rest of the country and the planet as a whole.

The American West is heating up faster than any other region of the United States, and more than the Earth as a whole, according to a new analysis of 50 scientific studies.

For the last five years, from 2003 through 2007, the global climate averaged 1 degree Fahrenheit warmer than its 20th century average.

During the same period, 11 Western states averaged 1.7 degrees warmer, the analysis reported.

The 54-page study, "Hotter and Drier: The West's Changed Climate," was released Thursday by the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization -- a coalition of local governments, businesses and nonprofits. It was based largely on calculations by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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